8th Construction World Annual Awards 2010

Flashback! What started as a small-scale awards ceremony in 2003 has now become a must-attend on the construction industry's calendar. The CW Annual Awards, organised by ASAPP Media Group, is now a prestigious national event graced by the who's who of the industry and government. Going forward, the Awards will continue to live up to its promise to honour performance and excellence while ramping up its scope to take the event to new highs. Triumph of the Will At the Construction World Annual Awards 2010, the winners came out to play! The Event • When: 19 October 2010 • Where: Taj Lands End, Mumbai • Time: 7 pm to 9 p...m If you wanted to meet people adept at turning stones to milestones, you should have been at the Construction World Annual Awards 2010 in Mumbai. The crème de la crème of India's construction and infrastructure sectors was in attendance as we feted the creators of a new, vibrant India. The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Sanakaranarayanan, was the Chief Guest for the evening, while RC Sinha, Managing Director, MADC, was the Guest of Honour. ASAPP's corporate film sparkled and the annual issue was inaugurated by the Governor. The star of the evening was Dr Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The loudest round of applause was for him as he was honoured with 'Construction World Man of the Year'. Gentle and unassuming, he spoke of commitment, excellence, social accountability, and integrity as pillars to building towards true progress. The banquet hall was packed with quality industry presence. The award ceremony was crisp. Growth was the mantra across the four categories: construction companies, equipment companies, building material companies, and most admired companies. Talks by RC Sinha and Dr Sreedharan were much appreciated for their content. Some of the things that were lauded about ASAPP, by the winners, was the integrity with which the awards were conducted. Also, a winner was amazed to learn from this experience that the award was completely merit-based. In a nutshell, adding to the triumph of those honoured, the evening could be summed up in the words of SA Reddi, Former Deputy MD, Gammon India, The event was absolutely fantastic. Better than all your previous ones! Here are some glimpses of an evening of winners.... We have a duty to ensure that the best is delivered.- Dr E Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Highlights of the address of Dr E Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, on receiving the Construction World 'Man of the Year' Award 2010. My selection as Construction World 'Man of the Year' stems mainly from my association with two major infrastructure projects that I have had the privilege to handle during the last two decades. They are the Konkan Railway project and the Delhi Metro project. The Konkan Railway is a 760-km-long, broad gauge line along the west coast of India. The line passes through one of the most difficult terrains ever encountered in the history of railway construction in India. For constructing it, 92 tunnels aggregating to a total length of 82.5 km in line had to be built. Nine of these tunnels are more than 3 km long and the longest among them about 6.5 km. Moreover, we had to construct about 147 major bridges for this project across river and valleys, the longest among them extending to 2 km across a river near Karwar. The highest pier of a viaduct was 64 m, almost as tall as Qutub Minar. The greatest challenge was the problem of insufficient funding. Though it was a railway project, the government contributed only about 1/3rd of the cost and the rest had to be raised from the market. Despite these hurdles, we were able to complete the entire project within a span of seven years. The 70-km long Kolkata Metro, which was the first among all other metro projects in the country, took 22 years for completion, incurred 14 times more cost and was of extreme inconvenience to city dwellers during its construction. Having learnt from our experiences, we planned a different strategy for the Delhi Metro. The mandate given to DMRC was to complete the first phase of the project in 10 years. Work began on the first phase in 1998, which tackled a length of about 65 km. We completed the first phase in exactly seven years and three months; almost two years and nine months ahead of schedule and within budgeted costs. The second phase covering 126 km touched completion just before CWG 2010. As a matter of fact, Delhi Metro was used extensively on the opening and closing ceremony days without causing any hassles to commuters. What's more, completing a 125-km metro line within a period of four years and 10 months was almost like setting a world record. Delhi Metro is a showpiece project and carries over 50 lakh passengers on a daily basis. The four important pillars that helped us to complete these projects were commitment to punctuality, professional excellence of the team, integrity of the organisation and social accountability. Having executed projects of high priority for India's infrastructural growth for the past 57 years, it is true that handling projects that the country needs so badly is far from easy. There is a need for a lot of capacity expansion in the industry; there are not enough contractors; and there is a need for the Indian construction industry to meet international standards of timely completion of projects and ensure quality and safety at construction sites. Builders can play an important role to meet these needs and sketch and draw the contours of development, fortune and destiny of this country. High infrastructural growth is the need of the hour.- RC Sinha, Vice Chairman & MD, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) Highlights from the address of RC Sinha, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) I have been a part of the construction industry since 1985, and have had the privilege of associating myself with all the industries being awarded here tonight. Right from urban development and the Maharashtra State Regional Development Corporation to infrastructure development in Andhra Pradesh and being a part of the SEZ boom in Maharashtra, it has been a long and rewarding journey. Most construction companies will remember me for a few things. First, we modified tender documents and said that existing tender documents prepared decades back would not be applicable in modern times. We treated the contractor as a partner with the client and not a subordinate. The government has been the biggest client. The scenario is changing slowly. Today with the growing demand for social infrastructure like health, education, law and order, there are hardly any funds left for the government to spend on infrastructure works. The first five-year plan had provided 25 per cent of the total plan from government revenues, not capital. Today, 100 per cent of the plan comes from capital or a loan taken by the government. This hints at the urgent requirement for PPPs for projects. In case of shift from government projects to the PPP mode, the government's responsibility is hardly reduced. In fact, the government's role squarely shifts from control to regulation. In regulation, it is the government's responsibility to protect the interest of the consumer that further emphasises the need for the creation of a regulatory authority. The government has created regulatory bodies for varied sectors like power, water, aviation as well as shipping. For further strengthening these regulatory bodies, it is crucial that competent technocrats and administrators take charge. While doing projects, three parameters are absolute precursors of good quality infrastructure: no cost overrun, no time overrun and no quality overrun. It is imperative for the construction industry to ensure the implementation of the aforementioned parameters, the client to demand them, and the end consumer to enforce it. The chalta hai needs to be done away with. High infrastructural growth is the need of the hour. According to a report, 25 per cent of the GDP should go for capital expenditure for growth to be commensurate with population growth. If we are not able to grow our infrastructure within the next 10 years, we are likely to lose $ 1,600 billion every year in GDP. We will not be able to survive the export surge unless we improve the infrastructure. Good project management coupled with skill and good quality material is sure to make a sea of difference. Political differences impede infrastructural growth, and hence political will across the country is a key requirement today. India holds the potential of growing faster than its current growth rate, and the construction industry can surely act as a catalyst to the process. With the competition getting stiffer by the year, I'm sure it will certainly be a tougher job for the jury to select winners next year. Vantage View Excerpts from the address of Pratap Vijay Padode, Managing Director, ASAPP Media, at CW Annual Awards 2010.... Construction is the second largest economic activity after agriculture in India. The construction GDP at Rs 490,000 crore accounts for 8.5 per cent of India's GDP. The top 55 companies, with aggregate revenue of Rs 135,000 crore in 2009-10 accounting for one-third of construction GDP, recorded significant increase in the last five years. Till March 2008, the growth was a gallop with a 30 per cent growth in revenues on an average for the construction industry. However, its growth slipped to a trot at 15 per cent in 2008-09 and 2009-10, reflecting the impact of global financial crisis which began in mid-2008. The economy limped back over the period of six months in the first half of 2010. The prospects of monsoon lifted the gloom and after a very satisfactory monsoon season, purchasing power returned to rural India with a bang. Further being one of the few countries offering a strong GDP growth in an otherwise bleak global scenario, India drew funding which enhanced infrastructure and real estate spending by private sector companies. Government projects too injected further liquidity into the system. The momentum is already making economists revise their GDP growth forecasts upwards. India estimates it will need $ 1 trillion, or Rs 41,00,000 crore, of investment between 2012 and 2017 to build more airports, ports, highways, power plants, railways and communications networks. This is twice the investment in infrastructure envisaged in the current five-year plan, which is set at $ 500 billion, or about 8 per cent of gross domestic product. The annual spend of $ 200 billion is a colossal number by itself. If by spending $ 250 billion during the 10th Plan and spending $ 500 billion in the 11th Plan, our industry has reached a figure of $ 30 billion, with the next targeted spend of $ 1 trillion, the industry is set to double up. The total turnover of the construction industry stands at Rs 135,000 crore or $ 30 billion. Ten years ago, the total turnover of the top 50 companies was under Rs 18,000 crore and their market capitalisation was near the same figure. Now, 10 years later, both the turnover and market capitalisation have grown tenfold. Today, 30 of the top 55 companies have a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore while 10 years ago only five made their mark above Rs 1,000 crore. Improvising and drawing upon our experience of the past seven awards, a comprehensive methodology was adopted to categorise and select the winners this year. The methodology involved financial results of construction companies for the past six years with details on operating revenue and net profit after tax with filters. Calculations were further made to observe growth in operating revenue and profits. Both these growth factors were integrated statistically to provide a 'weighted index'. The results were put before an expert panel, the members of which are qualified to observe irregularities in the process. Going forward to fulfil India's 12th Five Year Plan, an aggressive push is needed to get projects off the ground. India is in a sweet spot for investment, we are fortunate to witness this infra boom and CONSTRUCTION WORLD is proud to felicitate and award the winners who are playing a pivotal role in the building process! The Eminent Jury India has emerged as one of the fastest growing countries in the world; and with strong economic fundamentals, the future certainly seems promising. In the sphere of construction, we need PPPs to plan and execute projects. The construction industry generates enormous employment opportunities with almost 80 per cent of workers who are unskilled or semi-skilled. The industry must focus on realising their potential and enhancing their skills while making provisions for their safety and health. – Governor of Maharashtra Shri K Sankaranarayanan Winners Constructions Companies• Third Fastest Growing Construction Company (Small Category) : UB Engineering• Second Fastest Growing Construction Company (Small Category) : Supreme Infrastructure India• Fastest Growing Construction Company (Small Category) : Jaihind Projects• Third Fastest Growing Construction Company (Medium Category) : JMC• Second Fastest Growing Construction Company (Medium Category) : Marg• Fastest Growing Construction Company (Medium Category) : ARSS Infrastructure Projects• Third Fastest Growing Construction Company (Large Category) : Tata Projects• Second Fastest Growing Construction Company (Large Category) : Era Infra Engg• Fastest Growing Construction Company (Large Category) : Lanco Infratech• Largest & Most Profitable Construction Company : Larsen & Toubro Construction Equipment Companies• Third Fastest Growing Construction Equipment Company : Gujarat Apollo Inds • Second Fastest Growing Construction Equipment Company : Tractors India• Fastest Growing Construction Equipment Company : L&T-Case Equipment• Fastest Growing Equipment Company (Material Handling) : McNally Bharat Engg Co• Largest Construction Equipment Company : JCB India Building Material Companies (in alphabetical order)• Fastest Growing Cement Company : Shree Cement• Largest Cement Company : Grasim Industries • Fastest Growing Paint Company : Asian Paints• Largest Paint Company : Asian Paints• Fastest Growing Steel Company : JSW Steel• Largest Steel Company : Tata Steel• Largest Steel Capacity Company in India : SAIL• Fastest Growing Tile, Ceramic & Sanitaryware Company : Somany Ceramics• Largest Tile, Ceramic & Sanitaryware Company : HSIL• Fastest Growing Wood Product Company : Century Plyboard Most Admired Companies:• Afcons Infrastructure • Gammon India • Hindustan Construction Co• IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects• Jaiprakash Associates• Larsen & Toubro• Nagarjuna Construction Co• Punj Lloyd• Simplex Infrastructures• Tata Projects Construction World Man of the Year• E Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.